The Peruvian government on Saturday declared an environmental emergency for 90 working days in the coastal area hit by the spill of 6,000 barrels of oil a week ago – one of the consequences of a tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption in the Tonga region of the Pacific Ocean.
With this measure, the authorities intend to carry out “recovery and remediation work” to mitigate the damage.
The incident left a swing with dead birds floating in the sea or covered in oil on rocks, unable to fly, and fishermen out of work on the docks.
The barrels were thrown into the sea while an oil tanker was unloading at the La Pampilla refinery, located in Ventanilla, 30 km north of the capital Lima.
The oil would have leaked in the process of unloading a vessel of the Spanish company Repsol, due to the violence of the waves felt in the Peruvian coast.
Marine currents spread the oil along the coast more than 40 kilometers from the refinery, affecting 21 beaches, according to the Ministry of Health, which recommended that the strip be not frequented by bathers.
Oil cleanup brigades have replaced regulars at Ancón and other popular Peruvian resorts. Huge oil slicks on the sea surface could be observed on a tour of Ancón Bay, which is about an hour from Lima.
According to fisherman Alfredo Roque, the difficulties for fishing in this region will last a long time, since many new-born fish died due to the accident.
In addition to the fishermen, other people who lived from activities linked to the beaches were left without income, such as restaurant owners and local commerce employees.
“Nothing is sold. The fish comes out smelling of oil, and people don’t buy it, they’re afraid of getting poisoned with it,” says Giovana Rugel, 52, a saleswoman.
“I used to collect crustaceans, but now when I walk along the coast they are dead,” fisherman Walter de la Cruz told Reuters. “We fishermen used to sell what fish we could. But now everything smells of death,” he said.
Repsol claims it was not responsible for the spill, as Peruvian maritime authorities did not issue warnings about a possible surge in waves after the eruption in Tonga.
The company, which has delivered a containment plan to the Peruvian government, says it expects to finish cleaning up affected beaches and marine areas by the end of February.
Peru’s environmental control body calculated, according to a report released on Thursday (20), that 1.7 million square meters of land and 1.2 million square meters at sea were affected by the black mass of oil.
In addition to the oil spill, two people drowned off the coast of Peru after exceptionally high waves were recorded due to the eruption of the underwater volcano in Tonga.
Local media reported that the victims were not bathers, but two women who were walking near the beach inside a vehicle, which was dragged by the water. The driver managed to get out, but his wife and another young woman drowned.
The eruption of the underwater volcano caused tsunamis in Tonga’s capital Nukualofa, Japan and American Samoa.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, located about 65 km north of the Tongan capital, erupted on Saturday afternoon (15). The eruption lasted eight minutes and was so strong that it was heard “like distant thunder” more than 800 km away, Fiji officials said.
Hours later, Japan’s meteorological agency issued tsunami warnings on Sunday morning (local time) and said waves of up to 3 meters could reach the country’s coast.
.
